The Fountain Girl
by Chrys-DASL
Summary: When Chuckie tags along to the mall with Tommy, he's miserable. Tommy was only there because he liked a girl, so why did Chuckie have to be there? He's quickly bored, but then he sees her: The beautiful girl by the fountain. He wants to make a move, but will he have the courage? One-shot. For my At The Mall series. See my profile for more info.


**The Fountain Girl**

Theme 448: Fundraiser, Theme 65: Surprised

Series: At The Mall, Crushed Hearts

Chuckie groaned as he and Tommy set up the card table the mall had provided them for the afternoon. Tommy had agreed to help his current crush raise money for the school's volleyball team. While they were set up at a few other locations in town, Tommy volunteered himself for the harder of the locations, the local mall. By proxy, Chuckie followed. The only thing keeping Phil and Lil away were their own obligations.

Chuckie sighed again as he sat down in the wobbly chair he'd been provided, "This is going to be so awful, Tommy. Why are we doing this?"

"Because Kat and the team needs our help raising money. They said something about uniforms, but when I went to their last game, their net looked pretty worn too," Tommy explained, setting out a jar and the paperwork Kat had given him.

The team wasn't just collecting money. While they would accept donations, they were also signing up to do work. Chuckie studied the forms and realized he might get roped into that too:

"How far are you willing to go for this girl?" Chuckie asked, looking over the list, "Ugh! Are you willing to scoop out nasty gutters all weekend for a girl who may not even like you?"

"I'd go to the moon and back without a space suit for her, Chuckie. You'll have a crush one day. You'll understand," Tommy smiled.

Chuckie shook his head, "I'm never climbing a ladder for anyone, especially not at someone else's house. You wouldn't even know these people! What if it's faulty or something? What if you fall and break your neck?"

"It'd all be worth it if Kat says yes to the dance next month. I'm glad I'm starting early. We'll need to color-coordinate," Tommy sighed happily.

Chuckie grimaced, "I never want to be in love. It's ridiculous."

"You say that now, but it'll get you one day. I thought the same thing while Phil was out chasing that other girl, yet here I am. Cupid shot me full of arrows, Chuckie. What else can I say?"

Chuckie looked over the mall and saw mostly old people making their rounds. A pudgy woman with a walker slowly moved past them, stopping only to eyeball the cookies at the food court's sweet shop. The only young people were children with their young parents, all of them grimy toddlers with drooling lips. It was hard to look at them as they shoved mushy cookie around their faces. Chuckie knew he was once one of those kids, but he hoped his dad had the decency to try to clean him up.

After thirty minutes with no takers, Chuckie was ready to leave. He wasn't aware this was what Tommy had signed him up for, and he truly had no obligation to stay. He was about to call it quits when a large group of teens entered with a few adults. The adults made their way towards the fountain they had claimed, probably venturing to the various tables and benches scattered around the area.

The men were quick to sign up, offering up twenty bucks an hour in exchange for a clean garage. A woman took advantage of the gutter deal, and a couple there with their teens loudly signed up for the team's lawn services, though they were clearly still trying to get their own kids to do it for free.

When the traffic cleared, Chuckie decided to walk around the fountain. He didn't really want to leave Tommy there, but he didn't really want to stay either. The fountain smelled like some sort of chemical that made his nose tickle, and the smells coming from the food court weren't always appetizing.

As he circled around, he noticed a young teen reading a book as she sat on the edge of the fountain. He hadn't seen her come in, but he realized she probably entered with the hoard of other teens, probably there with an unruly sibling who insisted they come along. He wondered if she was the older sibling there to drive the younger ones around. Maybe she was the quiet twin of one of the fashionista teens that stomped by.

Either way she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. When he realized he was staring, he moved back to the table, moving his wobbly chair so he could see her from afar but still tend to the table.

"See?" Tommy smirked once he realized what was happening.

"What? I'm not giving up my afternoon for her," Chuckie argued.

"You would though, wouldn't you? You'd take a bullet for her, go into deep space, dive on a grenade," Tommy grinned.

Chuckie hated to admit it, but Tommy was right. He didn't even know this girl's name, but he'd do all those things and more if she only asked him to. Part of him wanted to march over to her right now and propose marriage, but he knew to stay there. He'd only mess it up.

Tommy handed Chuckie a clipboard, "Why don't you do my legwork for me? Go around asking these people if they'd like to donate or request services. End with her so you'll have it down, then make sure you get her name and number," Tommy offered.

"But I'll just stutter and mess everything up," Chuckie argued.

Tommy shrugged, "You won't know until you try. Besides, I need that done but someone has to be at the table. Your pick."

Chuckie was tired of the stupid table, so he started moving around the area. He caught up with the pudgy cookie spyer and got her to sign up for gardening. She slowly filled out her form, giving another pair of elderly walkers time to get some frozen yogurt and take a seat. Chuckie approached them next, but they only had some sticky change to give. Chuckie returned it to the bucket on the table, then he saw the fountain girl again. Feeling confident, he approached her:

"Hi, I'm with the high school volleyball team as a volunteer, and we're taking donations for new equipment. You can donate or sign up for work," Chuckie said smoothly, shocking himself. He just knew he was going to muddle his words, yet they all came out as expected. Better yet, she even looked up from her book!

"Well, I don't really have any housework to give away," she said, studying the chart, "My daughters usually take good care of me on that."

Chuckie felt his heart explode, "Daughters?"

The woman laughed, "Oh, it's happened again. That's what I get for reading YA novels in public. My name is Amanda Fields and I'm an author, so it's research. You should read one of my books," she grinned, pulling a copy from her bag, "Five dollars."

Chuckie thrust the money forward without hesitation. A second later, the book was in his hands.

"The fountain of youth runs strong in my family. Too bad it's wasted on this married woman," she winked, peering behind Chuckie, "There's an unsuspecting person. Go get 'em."

And with that, Chuckie had been dumped and sent away by a married woman, not the teen girl he thought he was spying. He did follow her commands, approaching a couple there with their young son. They signed up for babysitting before having to chase down the child, who had somehow ended up on top of a statue on the other side of the area.

When Chuckie returned to the table, Tommy was taking donations from two more people. When he was done, he turned to Chuckie and asked how it went.

"She's a woman. She's a married mother of teenagers," Chuckie stammered in disbelief.

Tommy, also shocked, couldn't help but laugh, "Man, you really outdid yourself."

"It's not funny!" Chuckie exclaimed.

"It's not, but you might as well laugh it off. I still have a chance with Kat, but you're done. You did really well though. I don't think I could've talked to her, but you marched right up there," Tommy said, patting his friend on the back, "Congratulations."

Chuckie didn't really feel like a winner, but he did feel like he'd done his part. He decided to leave, returning home just in time to go out for dinner with his dad. They chose a busy burger joint and took a corner booth. As they ate, the woman entered with her teen girls. The three looked like sisters, but the man with them was definitely her husband. He caressed her behind while they waited, their daughters ignoring them as they claimed their table.

Chuckie sighed. He knew his chances were nil, but he had approached her, so Tommy was right about him being successful. He wondered if Tommy would get to take Kat to the dance, but he already knew she probably wouldn't. Kat wasn't very nice, and poor Tommy was blinded by love. He was so blinded that he made the same mistake as Chuckie—Kat was a taken girl, spoke for since seventh grade. Tommy had zero chance, but at least he'd helped raise money for the team.

~End

A/N: The themes listed above are from my Infinite Theme List. You can find the full list on my deviantArt profile. As for the series, both are collaboration series I started for the Arthur fandom. I'm expanding all of my collaborations to include other fandoms, as well as other authors. For more information, please PM me, and if you have a piece that fits, let me know and I'll add it to my community.


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